Best Lost Ark Destroyer build: Recommended skill levelling, engravings, and awakening skills for PvE and PvP
Start hammer time with this Destroyer build guide
Looking for the best Destroyer build in Lost Ark? The gravity hammer-wielding Destroyer is now available in the western release of Lost Ark, bringing along a unique, burst-damage-focused playstyle. Destroyer is one of the slowest classes in Lost Ark, with long, chunky animations. The payoff is worth it though, as he slams his hammer down for massive AoE damage that is perfect for any fight. Get everything you need to start hammering away at Lost Ark’s endgame with this Destroyer guide.
Looking for more Lost Ark class build guides?
- Artillerist
- Bard
- Berserker
- Deadeye
- Deathblade
- Destroyer
- Glaivier
- Gunlancer
- Gunslinger
- Paladin
- Scrapper
- Shadowhunter
- Sharpshooter
- Sorceress
- Soulfist
- Striker
- Wardancer
Best Lost Ark Destroyer build: overview and Identity Skills
The Destroyer has two identity meters. The first is Gravity Cores. Using skills will fill your three Gravity Cores, which you can then spend to empower other skills. This is superficially similar to the Striker and Wardancer’s Orbs, but it plays out a bit differently in practice. Destroyer has two types of skills. Concentration skills have blue icons and build up Gravity Cores. Gravity Release skills have purple icons and spend all fully charged Gravity Cores on activation, gaining bonuses based on the number of cores spent. So, your goal is to quickly build up three Gravity Cores, spend them for burst damage, then repeat.
Destroyer’s second identity gauge is the Gravity Meter, which functions similarly to Berserker’s Burst Meter. At full Gravity Meter, you can activate Hypergravity mode. This slows all nearby enemies and makes you immune to all debuffs and crowd control effects, but disables most of your skills. However, it also massively boosts your basic attack speed and power. Use Hypergravity mode for additional single target burst when you have a window during boss fights.
Best Lost Ark Destroyer build: leveling and skills for PvE and PvP
Destroyer’s skills are all very slow but come with massive damage and area of effect coverage. That makes the leveling process easy, as you can blow away most mob packs with one button. Your Gravity Release skills also make single-target damage a breeze, easily dropping campaign bosses. The build below leans into everything Destroyer already does well and will help you through leveling and the early endgame.
You can level up skills using skill points, which you will earn from character levels and various quests throughout the game. Each skill has ten levels and earns powerful Tripod effects at levels 4, 7, and 10. You won’t be able to max out every skill until the very late endgame, so work towards the build below as you progress through the main story and use it to get started in endgame dungeons.
Best PvE skills for Destroyer
| Skills | Tripod 1 | Tripod 2 | Tripod 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seismic Hammer | Quick Prep | Absolute Strength | Starving Strength |
| Earth Eater | Red Shards | Perspiration | Rock Storm |
| Perfect Swing | Weak Point Detection | Absolute Strength | Hour of Slaughter |
| Jumping Smash | Superior Charge | Armour Destruction | Smash |
| Endure Pain | Gravity Enhancement | Anti-Gravity | Hidden Pain |
| Running Crash | Agile Movement | ||
| Heavy Crush | Quick Hit | ||
| Dreadnaught | Tenacity |
Best PvP skills for Destroyer
| Skills | Tripod 1 | Tripod 2 | Tripod 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earth Eater | Red Shards | Tenacity | Rock Storm |
| Perfect Swing | Tenacity | Abosolute Strength | Hour of Slaughter |
| Seismic Hammer | Tenacity | Concussion | Enhanced Weak Point Detection |
| Jumping Smash | Superior Charge | Time Distortion | Gravity Inversion |
| Power Shoulder | Victory Contract | Objective Complete | Express Fury |
| Running Crash | Agile Movement | Elaborate Plan | Enhanced Advance |
| Endure Pain | Wide Hit | Anti-Gravity | Healthy Mentality |
| Dreadnaught | Tenacity |
Skill point totals are normalized in arena PvP, so you will be able to max out more skills right off the bat. Use those points to set up the build above. Destroyer’s excellent AoEs and crowd control make him a battlefield enforcer that can easily stun whole teams to create easy kills for his teammates. The build above will help you play to those strengths.
Best Lost Ark Destroyer build: Engravings
You will first encounter Engravings around level 30, but you won’t really start using them until 50. Engravings are powerful bonuses that help customize your character to fit your playstyle. There are many generic engravings you can unlock for all classes, plus two class-specific engravings per class. Destroyer’s are:
- Rage Hammer increases crit rate and crit damage for Gravity Release skills based on the number of Gravity Cores consumed.
- Gravity Training grants passive Gravity Meter generation and boosts crit rate and attack power during Hypergravity mode.
Both Destroyer class engravings lean into different slides of the “build meter then burst” playstyle. Rage Hammer focuses on Gravity Cores and Gravity Release skills, while Gravity Training looks to spend as much time in Hypergravity mode as possible. An advantage of this is that both playstyles want the same stats (more on that later), making it easy to swap between the two.
Your generic Engravings are pretty flexible, but some options are always stronger than others. A few that work well on Destroyer are:
- Supercharge increases the damage of Charge Skills, of which you have several.
- Barricade increases damage while shielded. Destroyer has several abilities that provide a self-shield, and support classes in group content may bring more.
- Master Brawler increases Head Attack damage. You will add the head attack property to several skills through Tripods.
- Grudge and Cursed Doll massively increase damage in exchange for incoming damage and healing penalties, respectively. These are the biggest damage boosts you can get, but should only be used at their maximum levels by experienced players prepared to mitigate their downside
Best Lost Ark Destroyer build: Combat Stats and accessories
Combat stats come from your accessory items and affect your character in various class-specific ways. Your stat priorities will be based on the class Engraving you use, and you will look for accessory items that pair Engraving nodes with the desired stat. For Destroyer, this is all very simple. You want as much Crit as possible, with Specialization as your second priority. This holds true at all stages of the game and for both class Engravings. Crit will increase your critical strike rate, while Specialization helps you build Gravity Cores and Gravity Meter faster. You may also consider splashing some Swiftness to smooth out Destroyer’s slow attack animations, but it isn’t required.
Awakening Skills
The final pieces of the class puzzle are Awakening Skills. These are essentially ultimate abilities, with huge damage and lengthy cooldowns. Each class has two, which you can earn from the Trixion quest line after completing the main story. Destroyer’s are:
- Terra Break swings down, up, then down again, launching foes skyward before hammering them back down for massive damage. Terra Break also instantly fills your Gravity Meter.
- Big Bang grants immunity to crowd control while charging up, before releasing to deal enormous damage and knock enemies away. You may move while charging.
Big Bang deals more damage but is much harder to land because of the charge time. Consider using Terra Break in high-end PvE encounters you don’t have a handle on, since it is harder to whiff. Terra Break is also a no-brainer choice for Gravity Training users, who gain more value from the instant Gravity Meter charge
That’s everything you need to get started with Destroyer in Lost Ark’s endgame! Destroyer's playstyle is not for everyone, but pays dividends for those who enjoy it. If you’re still trying to pick your class, check out our tier list for some ideas. Every class is solid though, so don’t sweat it too much. Once you’ve made your decision, our guide to leveling fast in Lost Ark can help you slog through the story and get into endgame quicker.